Podcast Maré Sonora ® video
Thierry Stump: WAPI III, where it all began
June 29, 2025 · 1h 13m · 369 views
What this video covers
Thierry Stump built WAPI III, a 32-foot ferro-cement sailboat, in São Paulo starting in 1974, and crossed the Atlantic aboard it in 1981.7:41 Construction began in his uncle's backyard using a 2-centimeter hull of wire mesh, 5mm steel rods on a 10x10cm grid, and chicken-wire layers; standing rigging was galvanized except for two stainless fittings made by Nautos.7:24 A carpet-cleaning machine, bought on ten installment payments, funded the materials.7:06 The design was the Dia 32 by Peter Ebold, chosen because it could be built in ferro-cement at low cost.6:43 Stump, dyslexic and largely self-taught, was motivated by reading Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki and the Arthur collection of French voyaging books including Moitessier and Tabarly.4:56 The Atlantic passage departed Santos with two crew — Arnaldo Edsel and Paulo Bugano — stopped at Ilhabela, Ubatuba, Angra dos Reis, Búzios, Vitória (where a 20-horsepower engine was installed), Recife, and Fernando de Noronha, then crossed to the Azores.18:50 Navigation used a sextant, wristwatch, and paper charts collected from departing French sailors.24:59 A PX radio relayed position by bouncing off the ionosphere to a ham operator in São Paulo, who phoned Stump's wife.28:08 The crew arrived at Faial after nearly missing Pico island because they searched the horizon instead of looking up at its 2,800-meter peak.29:42
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